This application is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,085, which is based on application Ser. No. 08/720,838, filed Oct. 3, 1996.
The present invention relates to a miter saw, and particularly to a miter saw having a miter saw unit which is pivotable laterally relative to a base from a vertical position to both right and left pivoted positions.
A conventional miter saw is operable to cut a work placed on a base with its saw blade positioned vertically relative to the base for a vertical cutting operation and with the saw blade inclined rightwardly or leftwardly relative to the base for an oblique cutting operation. A stopper mechanism is provided on the miter saw for determining the vertical position of the saw blade. Such a stopper mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publications Nos. 5-49301 and 5-49302.
The stopper mechanism of Publication No. 5-49301 includes a stopper pin for determining the vertical position of a miter saw unit relative to a base. The stopper pin is slidably supported by a saw unit side member which is pivotally mounted on a base side member. The stopper pin is insertable into and removable from an insertion hole formed in the base side member. When the stopper pin is inserted into the insertion hole, the miter saw unit is held in the vertical position. When the stopper pin is removed from the insertion hole, the miter saw unit is permitted to be laterally pivoted.
The stopper mechanism of Publication No. 5-49302 includes a stopper holder mounted on a base side member and a stopper fixed to a saw unit side member. The stopper holder is pivotable between a first position intervening a moving path of the stopper and a second position retracted from the moving path. The stopper may abut on the stopper holder in the first position, so that the vertical position of a miter saw unit can be determined. The stopper may not abut on the stopper holder in the second position, so that the miter saw unit can be laterally pivoted.
In order to determine a vertical position of a miter saw unit, stopper members may be fixed to a base side member and a saw unit side member, respectively, such that one of the stopper members abuts on the other when the miter saw unit is pivoted to the vertical position. This may provide rapid and reliable determination of the vertical position.
It is to be noted that, with this kind of miter saw unit having a miter saw unit which is pivotable laterally relative to a base from a vertical position to both right and left pivoted positions, such fixed stopper members cannot be used since the fixed stopper members may prevent the miter saw unit from moving from the right pivoted position to the left pivoted position via the vertical position or vice versa.
For this reason, the conventional stopper mechanisms described above incorporate the movable stopper pin and the movable stopper holder. However, the stopper pin and the movable stopper holder must be manually operated by an operator, so that the operation of the miter saw is very troublesome.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a miter saw which is simple in operation.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a miter saw in which a vertical position of a miter saw unit can be reliably determined without a manual operation of a movable member.
According to the present invention, in a miter saw comprising a miter saw base for placing a work thereon, a miter saw unit having a saw blade mounted thereon, and a support mechanism for supporting the miter saw unit for rightward and leftward pivotal movement relative to the base, the support mechanism including a first member on one side of the base and the miter saw unit and a second member on the other side of the base and the miter saw unit, and the first member and the second member being pivotable relative to each other about a pivotal axis, the improvement comprising:
a stopper mechanism disposed between the first member and the second member for holding the miter saw unit in a vertical position;
said stopper mechanism including:
a first pressing member mounted on the first member;
a first biasing member for biasing the first pressing member; and
an abutting surface provided on the second member for abutment of the first pressing member, the abutting surface having a recess formed therein;
the pressing member being brought to automatically engage the recess by the biasing force of the first biasing member when the miter saw unit is pivoted from a laterally pivoted position to the vertical position.
The invention will become more apparent from the appended claims and the description as it proceeds in connection with the drawings.